What started as a missing person case involving a 40-year-old Deltona woman has become a murder investigation.

Maria Milagros Marquez-Rivera was reported missing to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 4, 2016. At that time, Sheriff’s detectives believed that she may have been in the company of an ex-boyfriend. About seven weeks later, on Nov. 25, 2016, a hunter discovered human skeletal remains in a wooded area off of Broadway Avenue in Ormond Beach. The remains have since been identified as Marquez-Rivera. While the cause of death is unknown at this time, based on information developed in the investigation, the death is being treated as a homicide. The vehicle that the victim had been driving was recovered in the northeastern United States. Detectives with the Sheriff’s Office’s Major Case Unit have also located and interviewed Marquez-Rivera’s ex-boyfriend. No charges have been filed and the investigation is continuing.

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DEPUTIES SEEK HELP FINDING MISSING 40-YEAR-OLD DELTONA WOMAN

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in locating a 40-year-old Deltona woman who went missing earlier this week.

Maria Milagros Marquez-Rivera was reported missing to the Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday afternoon. A family member last spoke to Marquez-Rivera by phone on Monday, but friends and relatives haven’t been able to get a hold of her since. Marquez-Rivera is known to drive a grey, 2009 Chevrolet Impala with a Florida tag, BDZW31. Deputies believe she may be in the company of her ex-boyfriend.

Marquez-Rivera is 5’2” and weighs approximately 200 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone who spots her, the Chevrolet Impala that Marquez-Rivera was driving or has information about Marquez-Rivera’s disappearance is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at (386) 943-8276. Anyone with information who prefers to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida toll-free at (888) 277-TIPS. Callers to Crime Stoppers can qualify for a reward of up to $5,000. Tips also can be submitted anonymously by downloading the smartphone app from the Crime Stoppers web site (http://www.westopcrime.com/).